For the past two years at least one company per year (in Savant’s portfolio) has had the opportunity to have a group of experienced, international postgraduate business students immerse themselves in a business. The objective is to highlight a particular challenge or opportunity and formulate an achievable strategy to overcome the challenge or realise the opportunity.

Savant incubatee liQuerc had the privilege of hosting a group of three executive master in business administration (EMBA) candidates from the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) for a weeklong workshop aimed at interrogating a specific business challenge. The EPFL is a prestigious research institute and university in Switzerland. The group, comprising Ligia, Raul and Manisha, spent time between interviewing Dr Woolf Katz at the Savant office, conducting desktop research, visiting various wineries and undergoing other activities to inform their findings.

The outcome was a very informative presentation with usable insights and recommendations. Apart from the strategy recommendations, liQerc has been able to benefit from a good external perspective and re-evaluation of the business and product strengths and opportunities. The learnings are fully embraced by the liQuerc management will be considered as they continue to build the business.